When it was announced a few weeks ago that actor James Franco and actress Anne Hathaway would be hosting the 83rd Annual Academy Awards together, some people were left wondering, "Huh?!" But after some careful consideration about the young and celebrated stars (those very clever Oscar promo ads and that NSFW "Funny Or Die" clip with Judd Apatow probably helped too) it seems the consensus has changed from confused to excited.
Since you can count Hollywood Crush amongst those stoked to see how James (who will be serving double duty on Sunday as co-emcee and a Best Actor nominee for his amazing performance in "127 Hours") and Anne (who earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work in 2010's sexy dramedy "Love and Other Drugs") tackle the prestigious gig, we wanted to give any lingering naysayers five reasons why this unconventional pairing will make for a memorable Oscars.
1. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin knocked it out of the park last year
While Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin may have made for a more obvious duo (the two funny men had recently starred together in "It's Complicated"), Anne and James have a lot of similar charms and sensibilities. Historically, Oscar hosts have worked solo, but it seems they finally figured out that two hosts are sometimes better than one. Even better, Steve has happily passed on the Oscar-hosting baton to the pair, when he tweeted to James on February 20, "@jamesfranco Have a great Oscars, James!"
2. They both can sing and dance and make 'em laugh!
The uber-talented Anne is the real triple threat here as she has already sung, danced and cracked jokes on the Oscars stage (she performed a cute number with host Hugh Jackman in 2009), but James is a jack of all trades too. Not only can the guy pull off drama and comedy (hello, "Pineapple Express" and "Freaks and Geeks"!), but he's one heck of a multi-tasker. In addition to gearing up for the Oscars, James is also a published author and student/soon-to-be professor at Yale.
3. Anne and James both have good senses of humor about themselves
Unlike some young stars out there today, Anne and James aren't spoiled Hollywood brats. There isn't a hint of arrogance around either of them, and you can tell they both take their craft—but not themselves—seriously, something any Oscar viewer will appreciate. We've got to imagine these two are willingly going to poke jokes at themselves, each other and their movies (we've got a feeling there might be a hilarious, albeit slightly inappropriate "127 Hours" spoof during the ceremony.)
4. Anne will be a good support system for James
As much as it pains us to say it, James is showing up to the Oscars as a host and nominee... and potentially leaving as just that. While critics and his colleagues in the biz loved his turn as Aron Ralston in "127 Hours" he's got strong competition to defeat, including Colin Firth in "The King's Speech," this year's shoo-in. Fortunately for James, Anne is familiar with putting on the gracious loser face (she lost the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in "Rachel Getting Married" to an equally deserving Kate Winslet in 2009) so not only can she give him pointers, but she'll no doubt be a good support system for him throughout the entire evening.
5. We may get some behind-the-scenes tweets!
Now that James has added celebrity tweeter to his seemingly never-ending resume, his followers may get some cool/funny tweets from behind (or even on) the Oscars stage. It will be unprecedented access from an Oscar host that will usher in the new age of communication and technology. In other words, you better start following the guy now!
Don't forget we'll be LIVE STREAMING/BLOGGING from the Oscars red carpet. Get all the deets!
Why do you think James Franco and Anne Hathaway will make for memorable hosts of this year's Academy Awards? Let us know in the comments below!
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